Obsessed: Blood soaked Wedding Dress
by SubtleHints
Summary: The SPR team was asked to investigate the strange events happening in a dormitory far from the busy streets of Shibuya. What awaits them is far from what they expected. please Read and Review..New Chapter up!
1. Intro

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt and the characters :) hehe but I do wish to marry Naru someday ^_^_**

**_Okay, so this is my first chapter-based story so please please be kind ^__^ No Flames but constructive criticisms are appreciated. Oh and if I get enough postive feedback I would continue the story- really there's no point in continuing a horrible story, yes? ^__^ And to those who know me from my one shots, I hope you would give my new story a chance ^__^ _**

**_Okay kiddos you know the drill: Read and Review! _**

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Mai gave the final steps towards the front door of the SPR office a sprint, taking two steps at a time. As usual or almost as usual, she was late. And the moment she entered the office all she saw was Naru sitting by the sofa with his black notebook on hand.

_One day, I will find out what exactly he is writing in that black notebook._

"Good Mor-" she stopped short in the middle of putting on her office sandals. Only now did she notice that Naru was not alone, he was with two men- most probably a potential client. Embarrassment flooded her, which in turn caused her cheeks to flare up, seeing how the four set of eyes (the two men, Naru and Lin) stared at her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry for the interruption. Please please do continue." She said hurriedly putting on her office sandals, and hanged her coat.

Naru sighed. He forced his attention back to the two men sitting across him only to stop short. The two men stared at Mai quite intensely that it made him uncomfortable.

He knew Mai had effect on people. She may not be what you would call gorgeous, but she has a way with her, like she brings sunshine into a room with her, as if one could actually bring sunshine. He as well, notice her most of the time. Okay…maybe not most of the time…definitely always.

As much as he would like to deny, he had been counting the minutes till Mai arrived at the office. And in ordinary days, he would be quite please and relaxed as soon as Mai enters the office with that cheerful "Good Morning", but today was one of those days that he wished, she had the day off.

"Mai tea." It was the easiest and most subtle way for him to send her off somewhere for the moment. He couldn't quite hide her everytime they had a male teenage client.

"H-Hai!" Mai said a pitch higher than necessary as she excused herself towards the kitchen.

Content that Mai was "hidden" in the kitchen, he turned his attention back to his potential clients.

"Sasaki-san…Mori-san…" Naru called out trying to get their attention politely, but that didn't seem to budge them in any way.

Naru cleared his throat.

"You know, in most places it is rude to stare with your mouths open." Naru said in his arrogant cool voice, crossing his arms.

Lin looked up at that and if he wasn't "Lin" he would have snorted.

That seemed to do the trick as both men spun their attention to Naru again.

"Oh I'm sorry Shibuya-san, I just…" Sasaki tried to explain but failed to do so, and turned to Mori as if asking for help.

"…it's just that she looked rather familiar." Mori added trying to help his friend. Naru just nodded.

"As you we're saying…" Naru started recounting their conversation a while ago..

"Yes, there are knocking sounds on the door when it strikes midnight… but when we go and open it, there's no one there." Sasaki-san confirmed after Naru recounted what they have shared so far.

"It wasn't that creepy at first but then, as it progressed, the knock became louder and louder and by the time we open it, we hear footsteps… like someone were running and we hear laughter from every direction." Mori-san explained.

Mai shivered at this while she poured the hot water onto their tea. She carried the four tea cups with a tray and placed it on the center table.

She could feel Naru's gaze fell on her and felt her cheeks blush, what she didn't notice was how Sasaki was staring at her too- but Naru did.

Naru cleared his throat.

Sasaki heard Naru and was immediately embarrassed, but still he said,

"Ano…"

"Eh?" Mai said shifting her attention to Sasaki as she sat beside Naru.

"Mai, this is Sasaki Kyoske and Mori Mamoru, and this is my assistant, Taniyama Mai." Naru interjected with the proper introductions.

"Uhmm, have we met before Taniyama-san?" Sasaki asked.

"hmmm… no I don't believe so Sasaki-san. Why?" Mai asked genuinely intrigued.

"It's just that, you look really familiar." Sasaki explained staring intently at her big brown eyes, which made Mai uncomfortable.

"Oh… I get that a lot… I guess my face is what you would call ordinary." Mai explained giving a sheepish smile.

Naru gave her a sideways glance. Never did he consider Mai's appearance as ordinary. But most of all, there was something in Sasaki-san's intense stare that steered something within him he can't quite explain.

"Shall we continue?" Naru asked trying to control his tone of voice.

"Oh yes, there were times when the doors get locked for no reason, causing some students to be trapped inside their own rooms." Sasaki continued.

"We can't tell you everything though since some students might have experienced other incidents that we didn't." Mori said apologetically.

"You said this has been going on since the beginning of the semester. Why did you decide to come forth only now?" Naru asked his eyes void of expression.

"Well…you see… at first it all seemed like a prank. Then as it progressed, we thought we could ignore it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone-"

"But yesterday, Maria-san was locked inside her room. We heard her scream, so we went up to check on her. Then we heard the furnitures' being dragged, we thought she was the one dragging them, but when we heard a crash then her scream, we all knew something was wrong."

"We busted her door just to get inside, but once we got through, we saw her lying unconscious on the floor, blood on her head. Her bed has been turned upside down, the cabinet "flown" across the room, if that was possible… so that's why we're here. We would like all this to stop before anyone gets seriously, seriously injured."

Sasaki and Mori recounted the events as if finishing each other's sentences. It was clear that the two teenagers were worried and stressed over their current situation.

Mai flinched at the thought of a new dangerous malicious spirit, and who could blame her? In the last case they worked on, she was pushed off of a cliff, thankfully Bou-san was there just in time to save her. Naru on the other hand was furious the entire case. Mai felt that if only Naru could exorcise the spirit twice, he would actually do it thrice if only to satisfy him.

Mai let out a sigh of resignation when Naru said,

"We will be there tomorrow afternoon, as we have to gather some equipment and call our colleagues."

"Thank you so much Shibuya-san! We'll get everything ready for you, too by tomorrow." Mori-san said his spirits clearly lifted up.

After some discussion over the preparations, the two teenage boys stood up, but before they turned to go, Sasaki sheepishly asked, "Will Taniyama-san be there?"

Mai opened her mouth to speak but before she could get the words out, Naru has already answered for her,

"Of course Taniyama-san will be there as well, she is _my_ assistant after all." Naru said in his cool voice and yet his glare was as heated as his voice cool.

* * *

It has been a very long 2-hour drive. Naru and Mai sat side by side inside the van while Lin drove with what looked and felt like his utmost concentration.

Naru had to concentrate on the new case ahead of them but it seems like concentrating was one of the hardest thing to do when seated beside Mai in the somewhat cramped space of the van.

He really didn't know whether to be thankful to Lin for keeping them company or to be agitated towards Lin _because _he was keeping them company.

After another half hour, Lin pulled up in front of what looked like an ancestral house not far from the University they had passed fifteen minutes earlier.

The place looked like it was located in the middle of nowhere. It was so different from the busy streets of Shibuya.

Mai shivered. There was something about the house that didn't feel quite right.

"Cold?" Naru asked suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts.

"No…it's just…" Mai shook her head no. Naru stared at her for a while, his eyes showing no emotion, before he turned to Lin and instructing him about the equipment.

Mori and Sasaki appeared from the doorstep after a while and came down the steps to meet them.

"Shibuya-san! Taniyama-san!" Mori shouted greeting them both.

"We have been waiting for you." Sasaki added giving them a huge smile.

"If you could show us the base, that would be helpful because we have to set up these equipments. And if you could segregate the students according to incidents that would really speed things up." Naru ordered without much delay.

Mai glared at Naru mumbling, "Geez, you are such a workaholic."

Naru obviously heard this, turned towards her and gave her one of his famous smirk.

"We _are _here to work Mai, and you better do that too."

"Hai hai director Shibuya-san!" Mai said with a salute acting extra cheerful. Then she turned to Mori and said, "Let's go Mori-san, you could lead the way." giving him an apologetic smile.

Mori led her towards the large oak door. He pushed the heavy door and stepped aside to let Mai walk in front of him. Mai was truly impressed by the breathtaking view inside the house. She was quite sure that this was once a mansion, owned by a very prestigious family.

What she didn't notice though was that Mori had been staring at her while she admired the place.

"Taniyama-san, you look so impressed by the building." Mori commented giving her a warm smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh! Yes, I am impressed. It looks like a mansion built in the 18th century, or something."

Mori-san nodded at that.

"Actually, it is. But today and for the past 15years we used it as a dormitory, since it has plenty of room to house students." Mori said as they continued to walk towards the room where they would set up they're equipments.

"So…where is everyone?" Mai asked curiously looking around the rather large hallways. It was awfully quiet for a dormitory.

"Some are at the dinning room and some are at school, while some are still asleep."

"It's really quiet in here, huh?" Mai said picking up her pace to catch up with Mori.

"Well, the dinning room is at the other side of the dorm, so you wouldn't hear the noise from here. But yes, it is kind of quiet since everyone is on edge because of all that's happening." Mori looked at her then; his eyes a mixture of concern and apologetic.

Mai smiled weakly, "Yes, I see what you mean."

And then, an ear splitting scream filled the hallway. It was as if everything happened in slow motion and yet everything seemed like a blur. One moment Mai was conversing with Mori, the next they were running towards the center of the room- towards the chilling scream of a girl. They looked around frantically trying to decipher where it was coming from, but just as when Mai was growing more frantic, she looked up.

And she saw a girl dangling from the second floor balcony, gripping the bars with all her might, a good 10 to 15 feet from the ground.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost hunt and any of the characters from Ghost Hunt ^^**

**First of all, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read my fanfiction and for leaving comments too! ^__^ I really appreciate it and it inspires me.. ^^**

**Second, I would like to apologize for the very late update. I had this chapter ready about a week ago and just wanted to add a little more something to it, but work had prevented me from doing so.. ^^**

**Third, I really hope you would enjoy this next chapter…^__^ nothing much happens, but I intend to power up the story as I update the chapters, no worries though, I have an idea as to how things would unfold one after another, so please be patient with me hehe ^^ Please read and review everyone! No Flames please? Just constructive criticisms.. ^^ and thank you all! **

Mai's breath caught in her throat. It was a horrible scene and she knew she should do something about it and yet she was frozen in place just like Mori was. The girl was still screaming "Help Me!" and no was close enough to save her.

Thankfully, the people from their rooms must have heard her then, because they were now pulling her to safety. But instead of feeling relieved, the girl's eyes widened as she felt something cold wrapped around her ankles and yanked her forcefully from the two teenage men who were helping her.

Out of reflex, Mai screamed "Hold On!" as she ran towards the girl, standing just a few inches from directly below her and held out her hand as if trying to catch her. The girl was still being pulled so hard that she was now floating parallel the ground- her hands were held by the two men, and her feet by something invisible.

It was then that she heard it, it sounded like a screeching sound, like someone running their nails on glass-that ear splitting sound, then footsteps and then… and then she heard Lin whistle, throwing his Shiki towards the invisible thing that was pulling the girl.

Mai turned towards him, feeling like her strength has been drained from her but she felt so relieved. She finally collapsed on the ground, when the two men finally hurled the girl to safety. She was still crying but at least she was safe.

Mai gave out a sigh of relief, but then she felt a presence next to her. At first she thought it was Mori or Naru, but when she heard a grunt of dissatisfaction, she knew it wasn't one of them. It felt like the presence next to her was disappointed that the girl was _safe_. She looked up abruptly and blinked in confusion. There was no one standing next to her. She stood up, looking around but no one was close enough for her to hear them grunt.

"Taniyama-san?" Mori asked worriedly as he slowly approached her. Mai gazed at him, her eyes still unfocused.

"You look disoriented." Mori observed.

"Did you hear anything?" Mai asked all of a sudden. Mori looked around as if trying to find some help.

"We all heard something." Mori replied slowly, not sure what was wrong with her.

"No, I didn't mean that. But…something else." Mai trailed off. She wasn't quite sure if she really heard anything or her mind was just playing tricks on her.

"Mai" came Naru's cool voice.

"Y-Yes!" Mai snapped to attention at that. Naru would surely scold her if her she was dazing off again.

"Mai, you should probably help Lin, and call Ayako and the rest, tell them to come here as fast as they could." Naru ordered in his authoritative voice.

"Okay, I'll go help Lin first." Naru nodded at that then turned to Mori,

"Mori-san, I'd like to speak with the students as soon as possible. Send them by group according to their room numbers. At least in that way, we could have a clear group to focus on."

"Yes, I'll send a word to every room. What else can I do?"

"If you could take the girl-"

"Matsumoto-san?"

"Yes, if you could take Matsumoto-san to our office first, I would like to ask her some questions." Naru's voice was void with any emotion.

"Naru! The girl had just been through a lot!" Mai protested with more vigor than she intended, she clasped her hand on her mouth realizing too late that she must have said something wrong. Naru was staring at her thoughtfully with those unfathomable blue eyes.

Then after a while, Naru nodded then turned to Mori and said, "I guess I can ask Matsumoto-san much later."

Mai stared at Naru in awe. It was really something to behold when Naru takes into consideration what she says. A small smile crept up her face. _Maybe Naru really is a good guy underneath it all._

"Mai."

"Mai."

Mai blinked.

"I believe that I sent you to Lin to assist him at the base."

"H-hai!" Mai said smiling sheepishly before she hurried towards the direction of the base.

"Here you go…" Mai murmured as she positioned the final set of equipments into place. Lin had been preparing his laptop for, what Mai thinks would be, a very long interview with the students. Lin had helped her with the heavier equipments earlier, and when she said that she can manage, Lin had nodded and excused himself.

Mai had already called the rest of the gang. Ayako said she was waiting for Bou-san to pick her up and they would be on their way. Masako said-after asking about Naru, that she will arrive shortly. John-san on the other hand was about to arrive since he was visiting a church near the province.

A knock on the door stopped Mai from configuring the mic, she looked up and saw a man in his late teens peek inside the room.

"Good Morning!" John-san greeted as he helped himself inside the rather large room. Mai beamed at him and greeted him "Good Morning" in return.

"Tea?" she asked as soon as John has settled in.

"Yes, thank you Taniyama-san. I'd say I was meaning to drop by the SPR office but I was held up at the church for the past week."

"It's okay John-san, it has been a slow week until yesterday." Mai said handing him his tea.

"Where is Shibuya-san?" John asked looking around.

Just then the door busted open, revealing a collected Naru with his passive midnight blue eyes.

"Speak of the devil…" Mai mumbled softly. Naru focused his attention on her throwing her a hard glare but a smirk was threatening to cross his face.

"I heard that Mai."

"Ehehehe…" Mai laughed awkwardly as she chimed in, "Tea?"

"Yes." Naru replied, then turned to John, "I didn't expect that you could be here today in such short notice."

"Ah, I was visiting a church nearby when Taniyama-san called, so I came as soon as I was finished there."

"It's good that you're here. After we have the chance to interview the students, there might be places where exorcism is necessary."

"Is the situation here that bad?" John inquired. Naru has already taken his seat behind the large center table. Mai handed Naru his tea and hugged the tray she carried with her.

"You could say that…" Mai whispered. John turned to her.

"I mean, we have just seen a girl dangling from the second floor, fighting to keep her grip only to be dragged forcefully. It was a good thing that Lin and Naru had come in the nick of time. Or else…" Mai recounted the events earlier that day and shivered.

Naru was focusing more intently at his black notebook as he listened to Mai, gripping the notebook hard enough to turn his knuckles to white.

"We should probably start letting the students in. The sooner we gather facts and information about all the strange events that had happened, the sooner we will be able to prevent another incident like that from happening." John-san suggested, as he observed Mai's terrified recollection and Naru's "worried" look.

Naru nodded at that then told Mai to locate Mori-san and send him and the students by group inside the base.

An hour had passed since they started interviewing students. They all had stories to tell that ranged from minor disturbances to downright creepy. Mai had to stop herself from shivering on several occasions, it was a good thing that John was there by her side to offer her some sympathetic smile.

"And what was it you want to tell us, Kuruma-san?" Naru inquired when another set of girls entered and had settled on the chairs prepared for them.

"Ano…you see, we all have shared a bathroom at the third floor, since we were in the same room. And well, I thought that I was the only one who experienced such incident that's why I thought my mind must have played a trick on me, or maybe it was because I wasn't getting enough sleep…" the girl named Kuruma explained.

"But when you guys came in just now and wanted to talk to students by room assignments, we started talking to each other about our share of strange experiences, and well…we all experienced the same thing on that bathroom." Another girl with long braided hair whose name was Miyami, filled in, as she put a reassuring hand on Kuruma's shoulder.

"Tell us, what happened, and when does these incidents usually occur?" Naru asked.

"It usually happens during the night, when we were done with dinner and such," Kuruma paused, looking at the other girl for support then continued, "I was taking a shower then, when I hear wet footsteps outside, so of course I call out to Miyami or Suzuki but no response except for the footprints getting louder, and then I would hear someone sigh behind me, and when I turn around…." Kuruma was now shivering, half past terrified as she recounted the event.

"But when you turn around, you would see a bloody palm print on the wall…" Suzuki finished, speaking for the first time since she entered the room with the other two girls.

Mai jerked and grabbed on to John's arms. She would never know what to do if that were to happen to her. Her heart was palpitating faster than normal, and she could feel cold sweat break from her back and palms.

"John-san, could you do an exorcism on the said bathroom later tonight? Let's see if it has any effects." Naru suggested, but then he turned to Mai who was now as white as paper.

"Mai, you could go outside and check if Matsuzaki-san, Bou-san, or Hara-san has arrived. John-san, you could go with her." He suggested.

Mai could only nod at that, it seems as though all her strength has been drained from her. But the moment they stepped outside the base, she was taken back by the stench of something rotten, that she dropped down on her knees, coughing up.

"Taniyama-san!" John cried out worriedly, as he supported her to her feet. Mai covered her nose and mouth to prevent her from smelling that awful stench.

"Don't you smell that?" Mai asked,

"Smell what?"

"It smells like, rotten flesh and…. Oh my God! It smells like blood!" Mai's eyes widened, as John only looked at her worriedly.

"Taniyama-san, I really don't-"

"Shh! Someone's here…Someone's saying something…" Mai said, clutching John's arm tightly.

_Stay away! Stay away and never come back!_

And then her surroundings were swallowed by darkness. Mai blacked out.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost hunt and any of the characters from Ghost Hunt ^^**

**First up: Thank you! Thank you to those who read, and those who read and comment, and to those who followed this story.. ^^ You make a helluva happy author ^^**

**Second, I would like to apologize for the very late update-again. I already have work, and though I would like so much to spend my time writing, I can't, so this chapter was put on hold until I can come up with juicy detailed incidents ^^**

**After months and months of zero update, finally, the next chapter is up! I hope you all would enjoy this chappie..^^ Please read and review everyone! No Flames please? Just constructive criticisms.. ^^ and thank you all! **

"How long has she been unconscious?" Ayako inquired as soon as she entered the room. Naru raised an eyebrow at her.

"John told me what happened. So could you please move aside so I could check up on her?" Ayako demanded waving her hand dismissively, and as much as Naru wanted to say a retort, Mai was first on his priority list. He could get Ayako for that later- when he was sure Mai was alright. And so, he stood up from the bedside and let Ayako do what she does best.

"No one told us the situation here is quite as dangerous." Takigawa said leaning his back against the wall facing Mai. They were all inside the room that was assigned for the girls and they were all attending to Mai's wellbeing. Mai has been unconscious for nearly an hour now and there was no response from her even when they resorted to first aid.

Naru was fighting for control despite his cool and aloof behavior. He was struggling to stop himself from pacing back and forth the room, because he knew pacing and panicking wouldn't help much. What he needed was a doctor, and if a doctor doesn't help, he needed a medium. Where was Masako when he needed her?

"There's still no response…" Ayako said in a low, desperate voice as she slowly heaved herself from beside Mai.

"What exactly happened?" Takigawa asked.

"I accompanied her outside the base, since Shibuya-san and I thought she wasn't feeling well, or was just scared by the recounting of the events by the students." John paused, acknowledging the intense stare of the people inside the room.

"And the moment we stepped out, she was saying that she smelled something like a rotten flesh and then blood, and then she started saying she heard someone, and then she just collapsed."

"And you didn't smell or heard anything?" Takigawa inquired.

"No, I didn't… That's why it was so strange."

"John-san, could you do an exorcism for Mai at her state?" Naru asked, trying to think of a way to at least get some response or reaction from Mai, to know that she's okay. _Keep calm, damn it! _Naru tried to force the negative thoughts from his head, and focus.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that without really knowing what kind of spirit is possessing Mai, or if she's even possessed." John-san said apologetically.

Just then, the door opened slowly. They all turned their attention towards the door, only to see Masako enter rather timidly inside the room.

"Just the girl we've been waiting for!" Takigawa shouted with relief as he hurriedly crossed the room towards Masako and gently nudged her towards the bed where Mai was "sleeping".

"Nice to see you too, Takigawa-san." Masako said acidly, but quickly let her sour mood go when she saw Mai. Something about her stillness gave her a chill. John must have noticed her expression since he asked, "Do you see or feel anything?"

Masako only shook her head. "I can feel something is definitely wrong with her, but I don't see or feel any presence. I just feel like she's detached somehow, if that makes sense. It's like… looking at a doll…" Masako trailed off, unable to say the word that came to mind.

"Would an exorcism help her regain consciousness?" Naru asked her in his usual cool, collected voice. Masako turned to him then, her eyes showed her concern. Despite Mai being her rival, the two of them had formed a strange friendship over the year they had spent working together.

"I honestly don't know, but I guess it's worth a try…" Masako said turning her attention to John.

"I guess that would be the best course of action now, at least we're not just sitting here waiting for her to come back to consciousness." Ayako interrupted, touching Mai's cheeks.

John nodded and proceeded to prepare for the exorcism.

"Huh? Where am I?" Mai looked around her as she blinked in confusion. Everything was hazy; it was as if she was looking through a dusty window.

"I was with John-san outside the hallway a minute ago when I….Oh!" she spun around only to see no John anywhere near her. "Am I dreaming? But this doesn't feel like the normal dream…" Mai said as she slowly moved forward emerging onto the ballroom where they witnessed one of the most dangerous incidents to date.

"This feels like the dormitory, but somehow it feels different too…" Mai observed still wandering around the open space of the ballroom. It looked like the same dormitory except there were no students wandering around, or any noise indicating that there were people around. It lacked life and energy. Just when Mai was about to turn back towards where the base was supposed to be, she caught a glimpse of a brunette girl.

"Wait!" Mai cried out. The girl turned around, and when she saw Mai, her brown eyes widened in terror then ran towards her. When she reached Mai, she grabbed her wrist in urgent horror.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here!" she cried out, her eyes the mirror of terror and rage. Even with fear clouding her eyes, Mai could see there was something familiar about the girl. She tried to explain what happened but the girl wasn't listening, instead she was growing more frantic as she looked from side to side as if afraid that someone might see them.

Then they both heard footsteps. The girl gripped her hand even more. Mai was sure that it would leave a bruise.

"Tell me what's wrong; I might be able to help you." Mai offered giving her a reassuring hand over the girl's shoulder. The girl shook her head vigorously her long brown hair swaying from side to side.

"It's too late for that…But…" she was never able to finish what she was about to say, because a hand had grabbed her neck and pulled her back into the darkness. The atmosphere turned hazy and dark, and the air smelled like rotten flesh, yet again.

"No! Wait! Don't take her! She doesn't want to go with you!" Mai cried out, and tried to run towards her, but something was pulling her back preventing her from going any further.

"Mai…" a soft, velvety voice stopped her. She knew that voice even when she closed her eyes.

"Naru…" she whispered, tears filling up her eyes.

"You shouldn't be here. Go back now." Naru said wiping her tears and all she could do was nod.

"Mai.." Naru called out, trying to control the tone of his voice. It wouldn't do much to let them know how frantic he actually was. He leaned forward onto Mai as he called out her name. It was such a relief seeing a reaction from Mai after the ritual John had performed. Though tears stained her face, at least now there was some response. Masako also said that the hallowed feeling she got from Mai was gone too.

Mai stirred a little and when she did, almost everyone in the room released the breath they didn't know they were holding until then. Naru on the other hand, remained cool and collected- or at least tried to, he was still leaning over Mai waiting for her to give more response than that.

Mai's eyes opened slowly. It was like waking up from a very deep sleep. Everything was hazy at first but when her eyes finally adjusted and focused on Naru's face inches away from her, she thought she was still probably dreaming and continued to stare blankly at him.

"Mai…don't just stare at me, say something…" Naru said in his usual demanding voice but because Mai pays very close attention to Naru, she caught what sounded like concern in his voice too.

"I'm not….dreaming." Was all Mai could come up with considering that Naru was inches from her and she was sure that she was as red as a tomato at that very moment. She could almost see the smirk on Naru's face as he heaved himself up.

"She's finally awake." Then he walked towards the window as the others gathered around her.

"How are you feeling?" Ayako was the first one to reach the side of the bed that Naru had recently vacated. Takigawa sat right at the edge of the bed, his other leg folded into an Indian seat position. Masako and John stood at the other side opposite Ayako.

"I think I just had a very vague and disturbing dream." Mai started to say in a soft, tired voice.

"You could say that again, you've been knocked out for almost two hours now! You should have seen how worried we all are." Takigawa whined, and upon hearing Bou-san's words, Mai's gaze fell on Naru as an automatic reflex. Naru caught her gaze and immediately turned towards the window pretending to look outside.

"I was?" Mai said, raising her right hand over her forehead, she still felt a little dizzy and it feels as though her mind was spacing out. But before she could shut her eyes and re-focus her attention, her hand froze. There was a bruise on her right wrist.

_It wasn't a dream? _ Mai stared horrified at the bruise on her wrist. Now, she remembered everything clearly, as if it was playing again right in front of her.

"Mai! What is it?" Ayako said, putting a hand on her arm. Mai turned towards her, her eyes filled with horror as she pushed herself upright.

"When I was sleeping, I thought I had a dream. I saw this brunette girl, running down the stairs…" Mai said shaking her head, trying her best to remember every single detail of her dream.

"I called out to her, but when she saw me, she gripped my hand so tight and told me to go away….I thought for sure that it would leave a bruise…and now…" she trailed off showing them the bruise mark on her wrist.

"Another out of body experience, huh?" Takigawa commented scratching the back of his head.

"But why you? I mean you're not a medium, so why did the spirit made contact with you?" Masako said. Mai shook her head saying, "I don't know…"

There was an awkward silence and then,

"Hara-san, go to those rooms where you sense a strong presence, Matsuzaki-san will accompany you." Naru said turning towards the group.

"Brown-san and Takigawa-san, you can try exorcising the 3rd floor bathroom where they see a bloody palm print." Naru gave out orders swiftly and to the point like he always did, wasting no time beating around the bushes.

"What about Mai's bruise?" Takigawa asked. It was not unlike Naru to brush off something so vague like Mai's bruise but still he cannot deny the fact that it was disturbing.

"The sooner we know what kind of spirit we are dealing with here, the sooner we could come up with a plan on how best to proceed. I need you all to do just that." Was all Naru said about the issue and with his tone of voice, it signaled the end of that topic.

Takigawa and the rest of the gang agreed. It was indeed the best course of action, for now.

"We will continue interviewing the students here in the room instead of the base." Naru added when no one raised another question.

"Why?" Masako inquired unable to stop herself. Naru turned to her with his ice-cold stare. He considered cutting her with a retort but thought better of it. He just wanted to solve this case as fast as he could- he had a bad feeling about this.

"We couldn't leave Mai alone the way she is now, in fact, you should all try not to act alone, we don't know what kind of malicious spirit we are dealing with now."

The team nodded their approval and started with the tasks assigned to them. Soon, all that was left in the room with Mai was Naru.

"Ne…Naru…" Mai started to say as she positioned herself better on the bed. Naru just raised an eyebrow in response to her. Lin had vacated the room with the rest of the team since he wanted to get some equipment from the base and move it into the room.

"I was wondering if we could ask the students about the previous owners of this mansion." Mai suggested sheepishly, twisting and turning part of the blanket with her hands.

"I was thinking of doing just that. The more we know about this place, the better." Naru said, then added, "You better get some rest, because you have a lot to do tomorrow."

Mai smiled secretly. Sometimes, Naru can be so sweet in his own little way. He put on this cold, demanding and narcissistic demeanor most of the time but there are times, Mai would like to think that only she can sense, when Naru shows his compassion and concern towards others, and it makes it sweeter.

Naru stole a glance at Mai only to find her grinning stupidly at the blanket. _What is she thinking now?_

"You should chart the temperature of the rooms we had the cameras set up in. I believe you could do that while you're hold up in bed?" Naru said smirking. He was quite sure that she was okay, and that the best course of action to ease her mind would be to tease her.

Mai looked at him disbelievingly, and then sighed, and finally she said, "Give me the chart then!"

It was a very long night. The students piled in but the strange occurrences had piled up one after another. It seems like the dormitory / mansion was filled with malicious spirits ranging from mischievous pranks- which can also be explained by student pranks, up to downright malicious. One girl recounted waking up in the middle of the night with her nightgown soaked in blood. At first she thought it was ketchup and that she was being tricked by one of her roommates but to her surprise it was real blood.

Another incident involved a couple who was staying at the library inside the dorm. The couple was having a few laughs amidst studying for the exams when they heard a shriek from an unidentified source screaming, "He's mine!" along with it some rapping sounds. As soon as the screaming and the rapping sounds stopped, the girl was suddenly yanked from her seat and was dragged outside the library by an invisible entity.

Mai tried not to listen to the student's recounting of events, but she can't help it. The room wasn't big enough to drown their voices. She was feeling more and more distracted. The girl she saw in her dream- if it was indeed a dream, she didn't feel like someone who would want to hurt anyone even if she ended up being a victim and wants revenge. The scenario doesn't fit.

A few hours more almost everyone had gathered inside the room except for Ayako and Masako. John had told Naru that he and Bou-san had tried exorcism on all the places that the students have mentioned; but John pointed out that though they did the exorcism right, it felt like it didn't really changed anything- as if all the other places are just collateral damage.

"Trust us Naru-bou, it's the first time I felt like I'm just chanting the mantra and no one is actually listening." Takigawa explained. Naru took in their observations and tried to come up with the best possible plan.

"Something about this case seems so disconcerting. I just…don't understand it." Naru murmured loud enough for them to hear.

"Whoa! If you are confused with this case, then we really are in a pinch!" Takigawa commented taking the iced tea that Mai had handed to him and John.

"What's wrong Taniyama-san?" John asked seeing the concern in Mai's eyes. Mai shook her head and laughed awkwardly.

"I just…feel the same way. You see, most of the time when we are taking on a case, after we interview the involved people, we get the general idea of what the malicious spirit is all about. But now…I don't know…Where is Ayako and Masako anyway?"

Mai said distractedly looking at the closed door and as if on cue, Ayako strode in confidently saying, "we visited each and every place that Masako felt had some strange presence, but then again, our medium here says she doesn't feel anything that would come close to a malicious spirit."

Masako though, stood frozen by the door.

"Ayako…" Masako gasped.

Then as if it was played in fast forward, but strangely enough, they all felt like everything was in slow motion, Masako was suddenly drenched in blood.


End file.
